Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - Dove sei, mondo bello

I don't think it's easy to write about humans and the human condition in such a detailed and descriptive way as Sally Rooney does. Putting it very blandly I would say I loved this book because of how beautifully any scene is set and also how normal mental breakdowns are for humans and how no one is just perfect but we are all just humans with a ton of different emotions. Also, how it is important to be aware of what is happening in the world and to hold those kind of discussion with your peers. Basically what I'm trying to say is her books give me validation for my mental health affecting my decision making process whilst being passively concerned about the socio economic setting of the world and I love nothing more than validation I guess lol.

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astrangewind's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Sally Rooney's storytelling style - rooted deeply in the inane details of every day life - becomes even more compelling in Beautiful World. Alice, Felix, Eileen, and Simon are each deeply flawed characters with deeply flawed relationships with themselves and each other; it's this complexity that makes them lovable.

The "plot" (some might argue there is none) is interrupted with emails between Alice and Eileen, which serve primarily as the author's own philosophical projection. At first, I thought this was a little bit much, but by the end of the book I appreciated these vignettes as additional characterization of Alice and Eileen, and Felix and Simon by proxy.

I loved these messy characters and their messy lives, and I rooted for them to the end.

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reddeddy's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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kitkathw871's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This is my second chance venture for Sally Rooney after I wasn't a big fan of Normal People, and I can conclude that she is genuinely excellent at writing the mundane goings of normal life - but her books unfortunately don't click with me. I do think this was a step up from Normal People where I wasn't as fed up with the characters and they did eventually start growing on me. I don't think I would venture into this type of book again at least for a while, I have a hard time getting into it.

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semporina's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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annaforthebooks's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I never thought I’d find a Sally Rooney novel relatable but here we are. The friendship between Alice and Eileen and the millennial existential crisis—I love it!

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jupiterbb's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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sixtinelys's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I devoured this book. I just love Rooney’s writing so much, her very direct descriptions, her dialogs. Especially the dialogs. My heart ached vividly while reading, here writing brings me to tears often, or makes my laugh audibly. It’s sometimes difficult to read, like her other novels, because it disturbs me, but in a good way. I was a little taken aback by the email parts at the beginning, but I ended up liking them actually. It made me want to reread her other books.

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